The information of a company must be submitted to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, i.e., ACRA, by anybody wanting to register a company in Singapore. Before 2004, business owners were required to visit the Registry of Companies and Businesses (RoC) and complete the formalities in person. The process is much improved since ACRA introduced BizFile, an online web system that enables users to file, retrieve and buy business data. ACRA’s objective is to make it easy for a business or individual to set up and register a company in Singapore. Additionally, it is responsible for ensuring that registered companies comply with statutory regulations and maintain their corporate information with ACRA.
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Due to the requirements of certain lease contracts, this typically poses a difficulty for both local and foreign entrepreneurs and foreign corporations. Instead of a limit, the Bill states that people can only act as nominee director by way of business if arrangements are made by a corporate service provider. The providers are also required to ensure that those chosen to be nominee directors are fit and proper. To address this, individuals can now only act as nominee directors if they have been arranged by registered corporate service providers and deemed fit and proper for the role.
How do I check if a company name is available in ACRA?
Once your incorporation application has been approved, BizFile+ will send an email to the appointed officers (e.g. directors, shareholders and company secretary) to request for their endorsement. All appointed officers must endorse their appointments in BizFile+ within 60 days from the date of the email. As a corporate services provider that provides various complementary services, InCorp also provides virtual offices for its clients, which can be set up within the hour upon the client’s confirmation.
- An extension can be granted if the companies cannot submit the returns within 30 days, but continuous failure to do so can result in hefty fines.
- The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore receives the update as soon as the change is finalised, which will automatically update their own records on a weekly basis.
- A Singapore company may choose a corporate secretarial provider to maintain its statutory records and ensure compliance with filing required information with ACRA.
- The providers are also required to ensure that those chosen to be nominee directors are fit and proper.
- Before 2004, business owners were required to visit the Registry of Companies and Businesses (RoC) and complete the formalities in person.
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Now with BizFile+, you can easily search the ACRA directory, access FAQs, calculate the company’s AGM date, and a range of other services. Bizfile+ is updated regularly to incorporate amendments to the Companies Act to ensure statutory compliance of companies registered in Singapore. As a licensed employment agency, InCorp’s team of specialists is experienced and knowledgeable about current regulations in the industry, as well as the procedures for the various types of employment pass applications.
As such, it could be an “overkill” to impose onerous requirements on these providers to carry out stringent customer due diligence for every company that they incorporate or service, he added. They support businesses in a number of key activities such as filing annual returns and arranging for directors, and serve as “gatekeepers” against the misuse of companies. These requirements include the signing of directors’ resolutions to open a bank account or to approve the accounts of the company.
An extension can be granted if the companies cannot submit the returns within 30 days, but continuous failure to do so can result in hefty fines. Though these are the general guidelines, certain companies can submit the returns without conducting the Annual General Meeting. “Regardless of whether their clients are residents or not, all (corporate service providers) business invoicing software must conduct customer due diligence before incorporating a company,” she added. The Singapore Government has introduced the Corppass digital ID for business entities to file all transactions with government agencies.
Singapore must send a clear message to the world that it is not a haven whose financial system can be easily exploited, said MP Louis Chua in financial accounting for local and state school systems Parliament on Tuesday (Jul 2). He said the discovery of one of the world’s biggest money laundering operations in Singapore in the past year “shocked and captivated” people here and abroad, and that the term “Singapore-washing” has even been coined. He raised several concerns about a Bill proposing tighter regulation of corporate service providers (CSPs). For example, it was decided not to proceed with a proposal to require CSPs to ensure they appoint nominee directors who satisfy prescribed training requirements if they hold more than a legally prescribed number of nominee directorships.
Corppass is gradually replacing Singpass, which was the login method previously and is still in use at some places. Before the launch of BizFile in 2004, a business owner was personally required to go to the ROC to fill out and submit form(s) for any corporate actions of a company. However, busy entrepreneurs were not too happy about having to personally visit the ACRA office to register their company and make manual submissions. Foreigners without a Singpass will need to engage a registered filing agent to submit the company name and incorporation applications on their behalf. Some SSIC codes chosen will automatically require nonrecourse loan definition approval from certain government entities, such as principal activities in the area of medicine, architecture, or financial advisory services. Ideally, a company should avoid making mistakes in its online applications to Bizfile, as certain applications and submissions made to Bizfile, (including Notices of Error) are available for purchase to the public.